Huntsville Woman Dies in House Fire

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A tough morning for a Huntsville family who lost a loved one to a house fire Wednesday morning.

Firefighters say they never got a chance to save the lone occupant, 72-year-old Melba Davis.

Davis lived at 1104 Governors Drive. The Interim Huntsville Fire Chief, Mike Sublett, says the fire broke out in the back room of her home. A neighbor out for an early morning walk discovered the flames around 6:20 a.m.

By the time firefighters got to the scene, it was too late.

“They got on scene rather quickly and actually had a fire,” said Chief Deputy Howard McFarlen. “And they started their fire knockdown and search of the residence.”

That’s when they found Davis’ body.

Firefighters worked quickly to put out the flames and keep them from spreading.

And they could only guess how and why Davis died before they could get to her.

“I know there’s an awful lot of smoke and a lot of times smoke is our biggest culprit at house fires,” said McFarlen.

Davis’ son showed up at the scene within a couple of hours, but had no comment to make as investigators combed through the damage. . Investigators say it appears to be an accidental fire.

Family members told firefighters Davis lived alone after her husband passed away a few years ago.

Frefighters kept the fire contained to the back room, which is where Davis’ family members say she spent most of her time.